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Telegrams

You can still send a telegram by Western Union, by dialing 1-800-325-6000. But service isn’t what it used to be: I tried sending a telegram to rural Winconsin last year, and was told that I couldn’t, as no Western Union office was in the area. Quite a change from the days when there was “practically no inhabited part of the world that is inaccessible to Western Union telegrams” (from Harts Guide to New York City, 1964)

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Telegram Service on July 24, 2009 - 01:49

Just to clarify, telegrams haven’t stopped. Western Union’s telecommunications network circuits were sold off in the 1980s to MCI. The telegram service is now run by International Telegram (iTelegram). Customers can place telegrams using the iTelegram web site or through a phone operator.